


Mia Famiglia

by Ims0s0rry



Series: Mia Famiglia [1]
Category: Jane the Virgin (TV)
Genre: Adoption, F/F, Family, Fluff, Gen, Secret Santa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:36:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 16,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21926827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ims0s0rry/pseuds/Ims0s0rry
Summary: Rose, Luisa, and Mia are a family.
Relationships: Luisa Alver/Rose Solano
Series: Mia Famiglia [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1890091
Comments: 22
Kudos: 39





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [HerDiamonds](https://archiveofourown.org/users/HerDiamonds/gifts).



> Happy holidays! My prompt for secret santa was "kidfic (Roisa with children/Mia)" and I took it and motherfucking ran a marathon. Absolutely unedited (and the deadline snuck up on me), so if you find any errors, let me know.
> 
> Enjoy 15k+ of absolute family fluff!

They're stuck in rush hour traffic, listening to morning talk show hosts discuss their kids' antics, when Luisa says, "What do you think about adopting?"

Rose looks over at her.

"I mean, I know you wouldn't ever want to give birth. And I'm too worried about passing on any number of my faulty genes, but would you ever consider raising a child together?"

"I don't know," Rose says, inching forward in traffic. "I've never thought about it."

It's true. Her life up until a few years ago was drugs and murder and running. So much running. There wasn't any time to consider anyone else but herself until she fell in love with Luisa.

But things are different now. Interpol has shelved her case. She and Luisa are living peacefully in plain sight. They go to the Villanueva-Solano brunch every week. She knows that Luisa is fond of spoiling her nieces and nephew, but they agreed that biological kids were out of the question when they'd started their new lives.

"Do you want to be a mom?" Rose asks.

"Sometimes."

"That's not a very strong reaction."

Luisa puts her bare feet up on the dashboard. Her navy nail polish is starting to chip. "Sometimes I'll see a baby in a shopping cart and I want to be a mom so bad, my uterus physically aches. And sometimes I think that no one should ever trust me with children because I would want to give them the best childhood I can give them—weekends at museums, saxophone lessons, camping trip—but what if my alcoholism flares up again? What if things get bad enough that I start to hallucinate again? I can't guarantee that it won't happen. Kids don't deserve to see their mom like that."

Rose is trying to find something comforting to say when Luisa continues. "And what kind of mother would I be if I woke up one day, so depressed I couldn't even get out of bed, and think, 'I can't do this anymore'? You can't return kids. They don't come with gift receipts just because you can't handle it anymore," she whispers, her voice thick with shame.

Rose licks her lips. "Okay, so that's a convincing argument for not having kids. What are the pros, besides your aching uterus?"

Luisa shrugs. "You have your assets and I have my retirement fund. And if that wasn't enough, you're a stockbroker. We have more money than we know what to do with. Yeah, I want a kid but more importantly, we'd be able to afford it. If we're able to make a difference, we should do it...but only if you're okay with it," she adds hastily. "I'm not trying to guilt trip you. A child should be the furthest thing from a burden. That way just leads to resentment."

"Do you think we'd make good parents?" Rose asks quietly. "We haven't exactly had...the best parents to model off of."

"I think so," Luisa says. "The first time I was institutionalized, my roommate was this middle-aged lesbian with two sons. We got to talking about families and she asked me if I'd ever consider having kids of my own. I said no then because I didn't think I could handle it. I mean, I was hospitalized because I couldn't take care of myself, right? But then she said that because I put so much thought into what would be good for a child above simply wanting one would make me a good parent. I didn't agree with her then, but I guess things change. Like I thought I was straight then." She laughs. "I don't remember her face or her name now, but I hope she's doing well. I send her good vibes every now and then."

"I don't know if I'd be a good mom," Rose says.

Luisa gives her an appraising stare. "I think you would, if you loved them. You love so fiercely. I could ask for the moon and you'd lasso it and pull it down for me."

Rose doesn't say anything as they pull up to Luisa's workplace. She went back to school and got her degree in social work. Now she works a nonprofit counseling addicts.

"Luisa, wait," Rose says as Luisa slips her shoes on and picks up her purse from the footwell. "Can I think about it?"

Luisa smiles. "Of course. This isn't a decision you can make on a whim. Take as much time as you need." She leans over to kiss her cheek. "Have a good day at work."

"You too."

Despite Rose's reservations, she can't help daydreaming as she drives to work. She can see it all so clearly: her in the kitchen making sandwiches for lunch as Luisa carries the precarious solar system diorama out to the SUV as a boy scampers ahead of her, backpack bouncing. Or Rose and their girl burying Luisa in the sand as she snoozes on the beach. Or her and Luisa bursting with pride as they sit in the audience and watch an elementary school choir sing off-key.

She knows she's romanticizing it. She knows that motherhood will entail a lot more crying and puke and accidents. But just for half an hour, as she's stuck in traffic, she allows herself to dream about a family of her own.

* * *

Still, it takes a full month of deliberating before Rose says, "I think we should foster."

Luisa looks up from where she's pruning the rose bushes. "What?"

Rose sits back on her heels and wipes the back of her hand across her forehead. How Luisa makes weeding look easy and sometimes even sexy is beyond her. "Neither of us have any experience raising kids. I think giving it a test run would be a good idea."

"Are you sure about this? You're not just saying it because you know it's something that I want and you think you'll be able to do it for me but then a few weeks in, you realize you can't do it but you won't say anything because you know it's my dream and you'll end up bottling up all your negative feelings until the pressure gets to be too much and then you explode?"

"No! Those psychology classes you took are making you overthink everything."

"So what made you change your mind?"

"You know I wasn't particularly close with my family growing up," Rose says. Luisa snorts. "And you're right. If we have a chance to make a difference, we should. I keep thinking us sitting in front of a fireplace drinking hot cider while a kid rips through their Christmas presents."

Luisa sits down next to her in the garden soil. "You know it's not going to be like that all the time. We might get a child that doesn't even celebrate Christmas."

"I know. It's not so much the scene as the feeling of it."

"And you're sure you want to go through with this? Even with foster care, there will be trauma and trust issues and boundaries and like you said, neither of us have any experience with kids."

Rose smiles. "No, but we know a thing or two about trauma and trust issues and boundaries. If anything, we know what not to do."

"What about if my mental illness acts up?"

"You're not doing this alone. I can't guarantee there won't be bumps, but I'll be here."

"And your record? They're going to do a very thorough background check. It'll include everything from financials to health to employment history."

"Airtight. I had one of my contacts scrub my record. She's very good. It's undetectable."

Luisa still looks unsure.

"Luisa," Rose says, reaching out to hold her hands, "I want a family. With you. We'll make it work."

Luisa cups Rose's face. She never remembers her gloves. Her hands are scratched from the thorns. "Are you absolutely sure?"

She turns her head and kisses Luisa's palm. "Yes. It's not like it's permanent. Not yet, anyway."

Luisa hugs her. "Thank you."

"I'm not doing this for you."

"Doesn't matter. Thank you anyway."

* * *

"So we're going to be foster parents," Luisa says casually at family brunch the next week.

There's a momentary lapse in conversation before Anna passes her the Eggs Sardou. Mateo's been obsessed with the Food Network recently, and while the spinach in his eggs are a little overcooked, they're not bad. And Luisa wants to do everything she can to encourage him. There are too many grown-ass college educated boys who put open pasta sauce back into the cabinet because they don't realize that all jars need to be refrigerated after opening.

"That's a great idea," Petra says warmly. "Any kid would be lucky to be welcomed into a loving home."

"It'll be nice for you to acquire a baby through legal means instead of kidnapping mine," Jane says, because she has to, but it lacks any bite. It gets easier to forgive someone, or at least something close to forgiveness, for kidnapping your newborn son when they consistently make and bring the best grilled cheese sandwiches you've ever tasted in your life to brunch every week for the past seven years.

(Of course, the first time she tasted one of Rose's grilled cheese sandwiches, Jane had to tell her that she knew it was a bribe and that accepting it didn't mean she was forgiving her before she stuffed three of them into her mouth at once.

She asks Rose what her secret ingredient is every single week. After a few months of playing coy, Rose had said, "It's cocaine."

Watching Jane blanch and then spit out a mouthful caused Rose to fall off her chair and literally roll around on the floor for fifteen minutes straight, tears streaming down her face. Jane still asks though, hoping in vain that Rose will slip up one of these days. And Rose usually responds with some sort of illicit substance.

Last week, it was "salted with the tears of children." And without missing a beat, Jane said, "That's not it. I already tried that.")

"I didn't want your spawn anyway," Rose says, just as evenly.

"Love you too, Tia Rose," Mateo says, beaming.

"It won't be a baby," Rose says. "We've seen what all of you have had to put up with these three. Do you remember The Diaper Explosion of 2016?"

"You're going to have to be more specific," Rafael says. "I remember multiple diaper explosions in 2016 between the three of them."

"In any case, we're not dealing with any of that," Rose says.

"So how old are you looking for?" Michael asks, snagging another grilled cheese sandwich.

(The very first time Luisa brought Rose to family brunch, Jane had taken one glance at Rose standing in the doorway and then had snorted like a bull before she bore down on her and started hitting her. It had taken Luisa, Petra, and JR to pull Jane off Rose.

"Let me at her!" Jane snarled, struggling against the three women.

"Think of how much closer you are after he came back from the dead!" Rose said, still cowering in case there were future blows. Luisa had made it very clear that there was to be no violence on her part.

"If it wasn't for you, he wouldn't have died in the first place!"

"I didn't die," Michael put in helpfully.

"Why aren't you more upset about this?" Jane yanked her elbow out of Luisa's grasp.

Michael shrugged. He's quieter now, a little slower to speak than he used to be, but he regained his memories and he loves Jane and Mateo with all his heart. "If I hadn't died, you wouldn't have let me keep Bo."

"Are you serious?"

He gave Rose a small smile. "You wouldn't believe what bringing up my amnesia will get me out of."

Jane broke out of their hold and strode off. "You're all unbelievable.")

"We haven't actually thought ahead that far. We still need to get registered with the state. But we were thinking of an older child. You know their odds of getting adopted isn't as high as the infants and toddlers," Luisa says.

"I'm okay with any age as long as they're potty-trained," Rose says. "When is that, around four?"

Jane nods. "Usually."

"The girls were fully potty-trained by the time they were two," Petra says.

"Mom, that's so embarrassing!" Ellie groans.

Anna laughs. "Hey Dad, do you still have that photo of Ellie making her constipated face on the training potty?"

Ellie holds up her butter knife threateningly. "I told you not to mention that ever again!"

"Make me," Anna taunts.

"Girls, remember what I told you about stabbing?" Rose asks, taking a delicate bite of a pastry.

Ellie scowls and lowers her knife. "Not while we're eating."

"That's right."

(The twins just turned thirteen and it shows. They're growing like bean sprouts, lording their newfound height over Mateo, who's been furiously chugging milk to catch up. Rafael talking to him about how he'll go through his own growth spurt in a year or two does nothing to dispel this. When Raf tried to get Jane to talk to him, she'd just shrugged. "You know it's been a nightmare trying to get him to drink milk for the last few years. If this gets him to get his daily recommended amount of dairy, I'm not going to stop him."

Anna and Ellie are also getting tired of the twin packaging. It seems like they change their look every week. Last week, Ellie showed up to brunch in a tennis dress with a string of pearls and a cable knit sweater tied around her shoulders. Anna was in a baggy screen-printed tank top, ripped denim shorts, and a puka shell necklace. This week, Ellie dyed her hair black and is in a long sleeve shirt under a Nirvana t-shirt. Anna is wearing the biggest fake glasses Luisa's seen since the 80s and a striped shirt under half-unbuttoned overalls.

One moment, they'll be at each other's throats and the next they'll be squeezing onto a beanbag together to scroll through their phones.)

"So what's the oldest you're willing to go then?" JR asks, leaning back and slinging an arm around the back of Petra's chair.

Rose and Luisa look at each other.

"I don't have a preference," Rose says.

"Twelve, I think. I remember myself as a teenager. Ideally I'd like to get some ground rules laid out and running smoothly before we get into everything the teenage years entail." Luisa gestures toward the twins, who've started to fight over the last quiche.

"Hey! What about me?" Mateo asks.

Jane smooths his hair back from his forehead. "Not you, Mr. Sweetface. You've been an absolute angel so far."

"Thank _you_."

"Ugh, you're such a mama's boy," Anna grumbles.

Mateo looks stricken. "You say that like it's a bad thing!"

Rafael sighs. "Girls, be nice to your brother or no phones for the rest of the day."

Luisa takes Rose's hand and smiles at her. Rose can tell that this is exactly what she's hoping for.

* * *

Deciding on fostering is one thing, becoming certified is something else entirely. There are months of informational meetings, a home study (Rose and Luisa stay up until one making sure the whole house is spotless), the background check Luisa mentioned (despite Rose's reassurances, Luisa still holds her breath until they're cleared), interviews with social workers, pre-adoptive training classes, and finally, registration.

Luisa gets in touch with a friend of a friend from work who gives her a packet of introductory information about fostering a child.

"Okay," Luisa says, crawling into bed with two clipboards, paper, and colored pencils. "So the first thing is we need agree on what we want. He said we should draw a picture on what we see when we close our eyes and think of our family."

There's a stack of books about fostering and adoption on Rose's nightstand. She closes the one she was reading and lays it on top of the pile. Rose takes the materials from Luisa until she's situated comfortably, then hands her a clipboard and some pencils.

"Ready?" Luisa asks.

Rose nods.

"And before you get carried away, I'm putting a max of five minutes on the clock. Okay, go."

Before, Rose was too nervous to focus on their child's face, scared that it would all turn out to be nothing but a dream. And losing the possibility of that would hurt too much to hope again. Better to keep things vague until she knows she's not going to be crushed by disappointment.

Now she closes her eyes and lets herself imagine.

Five minutes later, Luisa has a stick figure family. A triangle with red hair for Rose, a triangle with brown hair for her, and a little triangle with brown hair between the both of them. They're standing in front of a red house with a smoking chimney. There's a sun with sunglasses in the corner smiling over all of them.

Luisa peeks over at Rose's paper and scowls. "You're such a show-off."

"Just because I opted not to draw stick figures?"

"Yeah," Luisa says, not quite shoving her with a shoulder, but then she nuzzles into her neck. "Well? Mine's pretty self-explanatory. What's yours?"

"I already told you." Rose has drawn the Christmas scene. A very good likeness of her and Luisa curled up on the couch together, mugs in hand. There's a roaring fire, a glittering Christmas tree, and a little girl amid a mess of wrapping paper. Luisa takes a closer look. The girl has Luisa's eyes and Rose's nose.

"Oh, Rose," she sighs. "It's perfect."

"Remember what you said, " Rose warns. "It's not going to be perfect like this."

"It doesn't have to be perfect. Celebrating the holidays with you and a child would be enough." Luisa scoots to the edge of the bed to pick up a stack of papers that she flips through. "So it looks like we're both thinking of a girl. Four to twelve, right? Just the one?"

Rose nods. "We don't know if we can handle any more than one."

They take the time to go through the list of possible special needs, anything from being an older child to scoliosis, and which ones they think they're capable of handling. There's a good deal of discussion on a few of them and by the time they're done with the list, they're both exhausted.

"Tomorrow we'll go to the county and see who's available."

When Rose turns the lights off, she curls into Luisa. "I can't believe it's happening."

"I know."

The next morning, they meet with their caseworker, a constantly harried man named Don. "Hey, Luisa! One second," he says as he ushers them into his closet of an office. He sticks his head out of the doorway and yells down the hallway. "Riley, make sure the Punch twins' file says they have to be placed together!"

He edges around the room to get behind his desk, bumping into it with a hip and tipping piles of precarious files onto the floor. "Sorry about that."

All three of them stoop to pick them up. They all bump heads more than once.

"Thank you," he says breathlessly. "Anyway. Congratulations, Mrs. and Mrs. Alver! You're officially foster parents! Have a look at our book." He digs around the files on his desk until he comes up with a binder. "Here you are: girls between four and twelve."

Rose and Luisa flip through the book as Don squeezes in and out of the room, running around to get things done. They get through nine pages before Luisa clutches Rose's elbow. "Rose," she says in a strangled voice. " _Rose, it's fate._ "

"She sounds perfect," Rose says.

The page they're looking at has a photo of a tentatively smiling girl. She has dusky skin, black hair, and dark eyes. Her age is listed as eight, although she looks small for her age. She likes drawing, singing, and popcorn. And her name is Mia.

When Don comes back, they grill him. How old was she when she came into care? How much is known about the birth parents? How is she with affection? What's a typical day like for her? Are there any problems we should know about? How well does she get along with other kids? How is she doing in school? Is she scared of dentists or doctors? And so on.

Don takes it all in stride and by the end of their appointment, they're sure that she's the one for them. They're given more paperwork.

"And now we wait," he says. "It'll take another month or so to get everything situated, but I'll contact her caseworker and verify that she's a good match for you. I'll call you as soon as I know."

* * *

August melts into September, which doesn't mean anything temperature-wise in Miami. It just gets less humid. It's nearly October when they get a call from Don. "You guys are approved! You wanna go meet her? She's with a temporary family in Jacksonville but they're open for visits whenever you're free."

Luisa's already started the car.

"Are they okay with a visit in about five hours?"

"Yep. All day today."

"Give us the address, Don. We'll be there as soon as possible."

Four and a half hours later, they arrive at the home. 

Luisa seems as wired as ever as she slams the car door shut. "Are you ready?"

Rose has had time to think on the way up. "No," she says.

Luisa pauses. "Are you having second thoughts?"

"No, it's just hard to believe that after all that paperwork and waiting that we'll actually meet her. It doesn't feel like she's real."

Luisa grins and intertwines their fingers. "Well, we'd better go meet her and make sure she actually exists then, shouldn't we?"

Despite Rose's misgivings, Luisa is the one who hangs back when they're ushered into the den, where a few kids are playing. Rose spots Mia immediately. She looks just like her photo, except without her shy smile. Instead, she's frowning down at her coloring page, deliberating between which crayon to use.

"Mia, dear," the woman who's been watching her for the last few days says, bending down to talk to her. "There are people here to see you."

Mia looks up. Her eyes are darker than Rose was expecting. Her expression is wary.

"This is Rose and Luisa Alver. They're very excited to meet you."

Mia doesn't say anything but watches them carefully.

"She...takes a while to warm up to you," the woman tells them. It's obvious she hasn't personally experienced this yet. "I'll be in the kitchen while you get to know each other. Give me a holler if you need anything."

The other kids sneak glances at them but keep to themselves.

Rose lowers herself into a child-sized chair and tries briefly to squeeze her knees under the child-sized table as well. She gives up when she bumps it and the crayons on the tabletop scatter. Mia flinches and shrinks away from her. Rose freezes. They stare at each other for a few long seconds.

Rose wets her lips. "Hello. I'm Rose." She holds out her hand.

She doesn't take it. When it's clear Rose isn't going to move, she swallows and croaks, "Mia."

"It's very nice to meet you," Luisa says, taking a seat in one of the small chairs. Somehow she makes it look a lot more natural than Rose does. "My name is Luisa."

Mia nods. She stares at them for a bit longer before she cautiously picks up a crayon.

"What are you coloring?" Luisa asks.

"A rabbit."

"That's a lovely color for a rabbit," Luisa says. Mia is coloring the its ears a bright sky blue. "Why did you pick that color?"

Mia shrugs. "It was the only crayon that wasn't broken. It's easier to hold."

Rose can't help but smile. A pragmatic child after her own heart. Well, hopefully. It's too early to tell if Mia even likes the two of them, let alone if she wants to go home with them.

"What's your favorite color?"

"Green," Mia says.

They wait to see if she'll say anything else. When the twins and Mateo were eight, it was easy to carry on conversations with them since they'd keep going and going as long as you nodded in the right places. Mia just keeps coloring.

"I like red," Rose says. "Roses are red."

"And violets are blue," Luisa adds. "You're so extra and I love you."

Rose grins at her and rolls her eyes. Luisa thinks her love of everything rose-y is needlessly dramatic and is sure to let her know whenever she brings it up. When she looks back at Mia, Mia shifts her gaze and pretends she wasn't watching them.

"Well, you're probably very curious about us. I'm not sure what you've already been told about us," Rose says.

Mia shrugs. "Just that you're interested in me for some reason."

Luisa leans toward her a little. "I bet none of the adults ever tell you anything," she whispers in a conspiratorial tone.

Mia stares at her for a beat before she nods slowly.

"I bet you're getting really tired of having no control over what happens to you."

Mia nods again, but her eyes are slightly narrowed in suspicion.

"We're open books," Rose says. "Ask us whatever you want to know."

When Mia just blinks at her, Luisa says, "Maybe you should start with a few icebreaker answers."

"Right. Okay. So Luisa and I are married. We've been married for five years now. I work as a stockbroker, which means I get paid to boss people around with their own money. Luisa's a social worker. She helps people put their lives back together. We live in a little house in Miami. Have you ever been there?"

Mia shakes her head.

"We're really close to the beach. We could all go swim in the ocean together if you'd like."

Mia shrugs again. "Maybe."

Rose glances over at Luisa, her eyes wide. _What now_?

Luisa clears her throat. "If I was an animal, I'd be a golden retriever even though I'm more of a cat person. I think Rose would be a raccoon, but she insists she'd be a fox. The celebrity I'd like to meet most is Bridget Regan, although Rose says she doesn't see what's so special about her. She has a celebrity crush on some lady named Yara Martinez, who I've never heard of, but she says is absolutely flawless. I have an uncanny sense of smell. I collect coins from different countries. If I was a superhero, I'd want lightning powers. I think that'd be pretty cool. Uh, is that too much? It's too much, isn't it?"

But Mia is watching her with rapt attention.

"Um." Luisa exchanges a glance with Rose. "Should I...should I keep going?"

Mia gives her a tiny nod.

"Okay! Hmm, let me see here. Oh, I know. A few years ago, I went to Trader Joe's and there was a cart next to the entrance and I thought it was clearance stuff so I started picking through it and the woman it belonged to, tapped me on the shoulder and asked me why I was stealing her groceries. It was so embarrassing."

Mia smiles. It's a tiny closed-mouth twitch of her lips but the sight is enough to encourage Luisa. She tells her a few more embarrassing stories (Luisa never seems to run out of them) and slowly but surely, Rose can see Mia easing up.

"Anything you want to add, Rose?" Luisa asks.

"Oh, I don't have embarrassing moments."

"That's a bald-faced lie. Just a few weeks ago, you fell in your heels and pretended it was because you fainted. I had to get you from the ER because you wouldn't admit you'd tripped."

"That was a...an emergency! I'd fallen and I couldn't get up."

"That wouldn't be the case even if you actually were 51."

When Mia cocks her head in confusion, Luisa says, "A long time ago, someone accused her of being 51. She didn't take it well."

"I was perfectly gracious in correcting her!" Rose says, still testy about it after all these years.

Luisa shares a meaningful glance at Mia. "See?"

Mia actually grins. She's missing a few teeth. Rose can tell Luisa's melting.

The woman comes back and knocks on the door. "It's almost time for dinner, kids."

"That's our cue to leave," Rose says.

"It was nice meeting you, Mia," Luisa says, holding out a hand. Mia shakes it this time.

"Hopefully we'll see you again," Rose adds. "We're looking to foster someone like you. You can be part of our family, if you'd like."

Luisa holds her breath as Mia considers her offer. After what seems like an age, she nods. "Okay," she says softly.

Luisa bursts into tears and starts to lean toward Mia to hug her. Mia's eyes widen, alarmed, as she shies away. Mia glances at Rose for reassurance. Rose reaches over and clasps Luisa's hand, partly for comfort and partly to hold her back. "She's just very excited," she explains.

As they walk to the car, Rose takes one look at Luisa, still crying, and holds out her palm. "You're not driving five hours down the turnpike when your eyes are almost swollen shut."

Luisa just sniffles and hands her the keys.

"I think that went pretty well," Rose says on the drive back.

"Rose, she's our future daughter," Luisa says, a pronounced wobble in her voice. She still hasn't stopped crying.

"We'll see." When Luisa turns to her in outrage, she says, "Remember we're still only foster parents. We don't know if we're the right fit for her yet. I don't want you to get your hopes up and then be crushed if it doesn't work out."

Luisa huffs and leans back in the seat. "I guess."

"For the record though, I hope it does."

"Me too."


	2. Chapter 2

They call Don and tell him she's the one they want to foster. There's more paperwork. There's more waiting. It seems like most of this process consists of paperwork and waiting.

While their application is being processed, they visit Mia a few times a week in whatever temporary home she's in. Sometimes she stays for a night, sometimes for a couple weeks. Never more than that. In November alone, Rose and Luisa log several thousand miles driving all over Florida.

She's skittish when they first see her (and she still jumps when one of them does something unexpected, like accidentally bump against something or moves suddenly in her direction), but with every visit, it takes her less and less time to warm up to them. She's never a chatterbox, but they can have actual conversations. After a few visits, she shyly presents them with a coloring page that she's very painstakingly done her best to color.

Rose and Luisa start collecting her pages and hanging them up on the fridge.

"It'll make the house homier when our application finally goes through," Luisa says.

The three of them talk about a lot of things, like what Mia's looking for in a home (there's a lot of shrugging but near the end, Mia whispers, "Enough food." It breaks Rose's heart and makes Luisa sob for three days straight), her real parents ("My mom's dead and my dad didn't want me," she says in a neutral tone and then abruptly changes the subject), and her years in foster care (it's not terrible but it's not good either. Enough that Luisa has to talk Rose down from murder.

"Your record's clean and if you kill another person, we'll have to go on the run again. And before you ask, no, you can't maim them either! Not even a little! Either way, we'd have to leave Mia since we haven't been approved yet! No, we are not kidnapping her and forging papers. Rose, please, what about brunch? I finally have my family back. I'm not going to jeopardize that for your half-baked revenge."

And Rose had hung her head because Luisa was right.)

It's heavy stuff.

Rose shows her how to fold origami stars. Sometimes when they don't want to talk, the three of them just spend time folding and adding them to a jar that Mia insists that Rose keeps in case it breaks or gets stolen when she moves homes.

Near Christmas (after a lengthy discussion about holidays with her previous families), Rose gives her a box of markers. Luisa gives her a matching set of mittens, hat, and scarf after Mia had made an offhand remark about how she outgrew her old ones.

Mia clutches her gifts, her jaw clenched for a very long time before she says, "I didn't get either of you anything," in a very small voice.

Luisa makes a distressed squeaking sound and leans toward Mia before Rose gives her a sharp look. Luisa stops and asks, "Can I...can I give you a hug?" in a tremulous voice.

When Mia nods, she folds her into her arms. "Oh baby, getting to take you home with us is the best present we could get. We just have to be patient."

"Don't worry about it, kiddo," Rose says. "We'll give you plenty of warning next time so you'll have time to prepare."

"Thanks," Mia mumbles into the crook of Luisa's elbow before she squirms out of her arms.

Still, it's a major step forward. Luisa can't stop smiling the whole way home.

* * *

It isn't until late one January evening that Don finally calls them. There's a triumphant kazoo solo over the phone before he says, "It went through! You two are officially Mia's foster parents!"

Rose whoops. Luisa throws her arms around her neck, shrieking as Rose lifts her feet off the ground. "Where is she? Can we come get her now?"

"I can call ahead and let them know you're coming to pick her up. Here's the address."

"You're the best, Don!" Luisa says.

Mia is even quieter than usual when they see her. She answers everyone's questions with by nodding or shaking her head, waves to the people she was staying with, and hoists her one trash bag's worth of belongings over her shoulder and follows Rose and Luisa to the car.

"Is everything okay?" Luisa asks on the way home after her attempts at conversation have been rebuffed.

Mia nods.

Luisa looks over at Rose, her expression etched with worry.

Rose frowns and says, "Do you want us to stop talking?"

She sees Mia slowly shake her head by craning her neck to catch her reflection in the rearview mirror.

"Should we turn on the radio?" Luisa asks.

Mia shakes her head again.

"Do you want to hear Luisa just talk about embarrassing moments again?" Rose asks.

She nods.

"The floor is yours," Rose says.

Luisa takes a breath. "Did I ever tell you about the time I showed up to a Halloween party dressed up as an Oompa Loompa and it turned out it wasn't a costume party?"

Mia shakes her head but there's a shy smile starting in one corner of her mouth.

As it is with Luisa, one story turns into another and another and before they know it, Rose is pulling into the driveway.

"Here we are," she says.

"Do you want me to take your bag?" Luisa asks.

Mia shakes her head and tightens her hold on the trash bag.

"It's okay," Luisa says. "We're not gonna take it or go through it."

Mia still seems skittish.

"Well, this is home sweet home," Rose says, unlocking the door. "Come on, we'll show you around."

Despite their combined assets, Rose and Luisa's house is actually quite small. Better for staying inconspicuous. Rose makes sure to point out that Mia is welcome to anything in the fridge whenever she wants, day or night.

"I know it's a lot to take in," Rose says as they near the end of the tour. "If you have any questions—even questions you think are dumb, like where's the bathroom—just ask. We'll be happy to answer. And here's your room."

Even though Rose already told her about the fridge, she knows that Mia mostly likely won't take her at her word. Old habits die hard. So there's a little basket of fruit, granola bars, and other snacks on one nightstand. There's also a nightlight but Rose doesn't draw attention to it, worried she might embarrass Mia.

"There's clothes in the dresser, pajamas in the bottom drawer," Luisa says. "Although we'll probably have to get you new clothes in the upcoming days. They might be big on you."

Mia looks around her room, holding her bag and looking very lost.

"It's nearly ten," Rose says. "Are you hungry? Did you want to eat something before bed?"

Mia shakes her head.

"Let's go brush your teeth then."

When Mia's all snug in bed, Luisa wets her lips and asks, "Would it be okay if we tucked you in?"

She nods.

Luisa fusses with the covers a little bit more than is strictly necessary, but Mia doesn't stop her.

"You’re safe here," Rose says softly. “Good night, Mia.”

And just before she closes the door all the way, they hear a whispered, "Night" in return.

Later, when Rose turns off the lights and settles into bed, Luisa turns over to face her.

"Do you think we did okay?" Luisa whispers in the dark.

"She just needs time to adjust," Rose murmurs, her voice a reassuring hum. "I think she'll be very happy with us."

"I hope so."

* * *

The first few days are stop and go. It’s a lot like living with a ghost. Luisa will see something move out of the corner of her eye, and when she turns her head to look, she just sees the rustle of the curtains.

“She just needs time,” Rose says. “She’s not sure what to expect from us. Words and actions are two different things.”

Gradually, very gradually, Mia starts to make her presence more known. Rose and Luisa take her shopping and get her clothes that fit. There’s more checkups and evaluations and signing up for school in the middle of the school year, which is more of a headache than Rose could’ve imagined.

Just when things seem to be going well though, Mia starts screaming in the middle of the night.

“Hey, hey!” Luisa says when she and Rose rush into Mia’s room. “Mia, are you okay?”

When Mia wakes up, she scrambles away from them. “Sorry,” she pants. “I didn’t mean to—I’m sorry I…this won’t happen again.”

“Oh baby, you don’t have to apologize,” Luisa says. She leans slightly toward Mia. Rose can tell she’s holding herself back from hugging her. “We just want you to be okay. Did you have a nightmare?”

She nods.

“Do you wanna talk about it?”

She shakes her head. “It’s okay. I’m fine. I’ll just…um, go back to sleep.”

Rose raises her eyebrows. “That sounds a little difficult. Do you want to have some hot cocoa first?”

“If that’s okay,” Mia whispers.

“This is your home now, of course it’s okay.”

Rose makes hot cocoa with almond milk for everyone. Luisa puts on soft music in the background. No one says anything as they sip at their cocoa. When they finish, Luisa clears everyone’s mugs and sets them by the sink to be washed in the morning.

Mia licks her lips. “Um, could I…could I ask for a favor?”

“What is it?” Luisa asks.

“Could I maybe, uh, sleep in your bed tonight? It would just be for tonight, I promise.”

Rose smiles. “If it’ll help you sleep, then it’s not a problem. Come on, kiddo. Let’s go to bed.”

Mia wiggles under the covers between Rose and Luisa in their bed.

“Um, good night,” she whispers.

“Good night, Mia,” Rose whispers back.

It feels like they’ve surmounted some sort of obstacle none of them knew was there. Mia seems more at ease after that night.

* * *

"We know you have a past before us, and I thought it would be nice if we made a scrapbook so you don't forget, if you'd like," Luisa says one day. Rose nods, at least until Luisa adds, "Rose and I can also fill in some of our past too, just so it's fair."

Rose's eyebrows shoot up and she makes a face that she hopes conveys what a bad idea she thinks this is. Their story is hardly appropriate for a child.

"How did you meet?" Mia asks.

Rose throws up her hands behind Mia, as if to say, "See?"

Luisa waits until Mia's busy sprinkling glitter on the border of the book before she rolls her eyes at Rose. _Calm down_ , she mouths over her head. _I'll handle it_.

Of course, whatever calm this bestows on Rose is promptly shattered when Luisa says, "The first time I saw Rose was at a girl bar. Do you know what that is?"

Mia barely has time to shake her head when Rose says, "Luisa, can I talk to you in private?" Although she doesn't give her any time to decide either way before she's pushing her into a quiet corner.

"What are you doing?" Rose hisses.

"She deserves to know the truth," Luisa says.

"The whole sordid story?"

"Well, obviously not the explicit details, like remember that one time you pulled me into a broom closet and twisted your fingers like _that_ until I—"

"Yes!" Rose cuts her off. "That's exactly what I mean."

"Okay, I'm glad we're on the same page, then."

"But what about everything else?"

"You mean that you were cheating on my dad with me?"

Rose clears her throat before she says, "Yes," in a prim voice.

Luisa shrugs. "She's going to find out sooner or later, especially once we start going to brunch together. You know that even now, they're not your biggest fans."

"Just because I shot Michael. And kidnapped Mateo. Once! Well, once each. They were both years ago. I don't understand why they can't stop bringing it up."

Luisa pats her arm. "I know, hon."

Rose blows out a breath. "Maybe you're right. It's better that she finds out the truth from us."

"Of course I'm right," she says briskly, and rises up on her tiptoes to press a quick kiss to Rose's cheek. "I'm always right."

"Ha!" But Rose allows herself to be led back to where Mia turns back to her project, trying to pretend she wasn't listening in.

"So, the greatest love story ever told starts with me sitting alone in a girl bar, which is a bar for lesbians. And then Rose walked in..."

Of course, this leads to more questions and after a while, the whole messy history comes out. Rose will jump in every once in a while to add something or correct her, but for the most part, she lets Luisa tell their story.

She tells Mia about how she used to be a doctor, and Rose was a lawyer. She tells her about her alcoholism, her first marriage, and how she lost her license. She tells her about Rose's former multibillion-dollar drug empire she ran with her stepmother, and marrying Emilio to secure a front for the illegal plastic surgery ring, and her masks. Rose is grateful she leaves out almost all of the murders.

When she finishes, Mia stares at the both of them for several long, uncomfortable moments before she says, "That's fucked up."

"Language!" Luisa says, fetching the swear jar.

Mia grimaces as she fishes a quarter out of her pocket.

Rose can't help but grin. "She has a point."

"Regardless, there are more constructive ways of putting it."

"Well, that's pretty much it for us," Rose says, gluing a pair of googly eyes to a page. "What about you? What's one thing you miss most about the other places you've lived?"

And as Mia hesitantly starts to tell them about her birth parents, Rose meets Luisa's eyes over her head and smiles.

* * *

Even if they were perfect parents, which they're not, something was bound to happen sooner or later.

Mia's birthday is in February. Luisa goes all-out, putting up streamers and balloons and ordering a huge-ass cake.

"Luisa," Rose says, exasperated. "Who's going to eat all this cake?"

She shrugs. "I'm sure we will, sooner or later."

Rose groans. "You're going to give us all diabetes."

"Come on, Rose. It's her first birthday party. I wanna make sure we get it right."

Rose grumbles but she helps Luisa shake out the tablecloth patterned with party hats and lay it out over the table.

Rose goes to pick Mia up from school. When she walks into the house, Luisa flicks on the light. "Happy birthday!"

Mia startles, looking at the cake and the candles and the decorations, before she starts screaming in one, long, unbroken shriek. Before either of them can stop her, she charges toward the display and yanks the tablecloth. The cake topples onto the floor. She screams all the way to her room and then slams the door. They can hear her throw herself onto the bed and muffled sobbing.

Luisa starts to take a few steps toward her room, but Rose catches her wrist. "Give her and yourself a bit to calm down. I'll go talk to her in a few minutes."

Luisa turns to her, her eyes wild. "Did I do something wrong? I just wanted to do something nice for her."

"I know, but there's a lot happening right now for her. Besides, she's a kid. Gratitude isn't exactly at the forefront of her mind. And that's the way it should be."

Luisa sighs. "I'm turning out to be a terrible mom."

Rose pulls her into a tight hug. "Don't be stupid. You're trying your best. That's all anyone can ask of a parent. I'll see where she's at and then we can all talk it out and apologize and have some cake, okay?" She glances at the cake facedown on the floor. "Or you know, we'll buy a pie or something."

Luisa nods against her shoulder. After a shuddering breath, she breaks away. They start to clean up the mess and take down the decorations.

When it's been exactly five minutes, Rose knocks gently on Mia's door. "Kiddo? Can I come in?"

"No!"

When Luisa gives her a bewildered look: _what do we do now?_ Rose just nods. "Okay, I'll give you five more minutes."

This goes on for twenty minutes (Luisa getting antsier and antsier), before Mia says, "Fine. You can come in."

Luisa hovers near the door. Rose sits down in the window seat, a little way away from where Mia's still face down on the bed. "Did we do something wrong?"

"No," Mia says sullenly.

"Oh, okay," Rose says. She waits for Mia to elaborate.

Finally, Mia sighs. "I don't like celebrating my birthday," she mumbles.

"Why?"

She sits up and starts to kick her heels against the bed frame. It goes on for several minutes before she takes a breath and says, "My birthday, um...It was, it's a...I don't..." She bites down hard enough on her lip that it goes white. Rose can make out tears starting to bead in her eyelashes. "Every year, it's a reminder that I'm getting too old to be adopted," she whispers, her voice cracking.

Out of the corner of her eye, she can see Luisa physically restraining herself from squeezing Mia into a bone-crushing hug. Instead, she swallows before she asks, "Can I give you a hug?" in a tremulous voice.

"Not right now," Mia says.

"Okay," Luisa murmurs.

Rose is at a loss for words. Instinctively, she wants to reassure her that she's found her forever home, but it's only been a month and it would be cruel beyond words to promise such an important thing and then have it all fall apart.

Luisa's voice quivers when she says, "You're a very special girl and we love you very much. I'm sorry that we upset you. I should've asked you ahead of time instead of surprising you."

Mia nods once, staring down at the clasped hands in her lap.

"Is there anything you'd like to do instead? It doesn't have to be for your birthday. Anything that would make you feel better."

Mia sniffs. "Can we watch a movie?"

"Sure. Did you have one in mind?"

"Lilo and Stitch?"

"That's one of my favorites," Luisa says.

"I'll go make the popcorn," Rose says, remembering that it was one of the things listed in Mia's profile. When Mia perks up marginally, she asks, "Is there a certain way you like it?"

"Is extra butter okay?"

Rose grins. "It's the only kind we have right now. But if you want like caramel corn or anything, we'll pick some up the next time we go grocery shopping."

"No, I like extra butter just fine."

"Ooh Rose, we should pick up some Costco crack."

Mia cocks her head. "Costco crack?"

"It's this huge bag of mixed caramel and cheese popcorn."

Mia makes a face. "That doesn't sound very good."

"You say that now," Rose says. "But I was once a nonbeliever too."

"Why's it called Costco crack?"

"Because we get it at Costco. And also because between the two of us alone, it's gone within a day tops."

Rose nods. "It's more addictive than crack. Take it from someone who's tried both."

"You tried crack?" Luisa asks, flabbergasted.

She shrugs. "Well, I had to make sure the goods were up to par, right? Didn't do anything for me personally."

 _What the fuck_ , Mia mouths. When Luisa starts to admonish her, Mia jumps to her feet. "I didn't say it, though! I just made the syllables with my mouth."

Luisa narrows her eyes at Rose. "Your mommy's old lawyer ways are rubbing off on you."

Rose scowls. "You say that like it's a bad thing."

* * *

For the most part, Mia is a great kid. Even Rose, who wasn't big on children (cut scene to when she kidnapped Mateo and held him upside down by a foot until one of her minions showed her how to properly hold a baby), is surprised by how much she likes her. 

But she is still nine years old and occasionally things get out of hand. 

Luisa wins free tickets to Universal Studios through a lottery at work so one sticky Saturday, they drive up to Orlando to spend the day there. Rose has a headache. Luisa had asked if she wanted to stay home and rest, but Rose had been adamant about not letting a tiny thing like that stop her from enjoying a family outing. When they're halfway there, they turn around and drive back to pick up Mia's swimsuit that she forgot. Once they get there, they circle the parking garage for half an hour looking for a parking spot. 

So Rose and Luisa are already a little short-tempered with each other. Things are fine through the first few rides. Mostly it's just a lot of waiting in line and fanning themselves. Luisa wasn't paying attention when they mention that people with motion sickness should skip The Simpsons Ride and gets horribly nauseous. 

The final straw is when they get to Harry Potter World though. They're all overheated and irritable. When Mia demands the entire Ravenclaw section of merchandise, Rose shakes her head. "You can get a wand and a set of robes but not the whole thing. We don't have money for that." 

"Yes, you do!" Mia says, raising her voice to a scream. "You have plenty of money! You sold drugs and you used to be a doctor! You have money! You just don't want to spend it on me! Are you just collecting payments from the government from foster care? This is the only thing I've ever asked for! You never get me anything I want!" 

"That's not fair!" Rose shouts back, her temper flaring. "We have given you everything you wanted so far! This is the one time I've said no because I'm not dropping a thousand dollars on merchandise! Why can't you just be..." 

"I think I'm gonna be sick," Luisa mumbles, crouching down and putting her head between her knees. 

"What?" Mia demands. "Say it! Why can't I just be what? If I'm not the perfect kid you wanted, then why don't you just send me back!" 

The words cut through Rose's headache for a split second. "What?" 

But Mia's run off. 

Luisa stands up. "You, sit on that bench and think about what you've said. I'll go find Mia." 

"But Luisa—" 

"Don't." 

Luisa, as pasty as her complexion is, has her mouth set in that line that means there's no arguing with her. Rose sighs and slumps on the bench, crossing her arms. She doesn't want to think about what she's said, but her words keep coming back to haunt her. 

It seems like an eternity later when Luisa sits heavily next to her. "She's very angry with you." 

"I figured." 

"Rose, you need to take this seriously! We're in charge of Mia's wellbeing and if that's you want out of, you need to let me know." 

"No! God, no." Rose bows her head and runs her hands across her face, sighing heavily. "Parenting is turning out harder than I thought I would be, and I was prepared for it to be very difficult. But I...I'm fond of her. I don't want losing my temper to ruin this." 

"I explained to her that just because we're better off than a lot of families doesn't mean that she can get whatever she wants, even if she's a diehard Ravenclaw." Luisa purses her lips. "But you have to be careful, going forward. I don't know what you were going to say, but regardless, it would be a shitty thing to say to a child even without abandonment issues." 

"I know." 

Luisa pulls her into a hug. "You don't have to be perfect though, you know? I think we're doing a pretty good job, all things considered." 

Rose sighs again. "I feel like one of these days I'm going to slip up and it's all going to shatter." 

"We're made of tougher stuff than that. And one bad day isn't going to erase all the good days. One day you're gonna fall head over heels in love with her and you'll never let her go. I'll bet my whole retirement fund on it." 

"Lu, you're terrible at gambling." 

She smiles. "Not when it comes to you. Now perk up. I think Mia's done sulking. Think you can come up with an apology?" 

Rose nods. 

After Rose apologizes and Mia mumbles something in return that could be, "I shouldn't have been such a brat," there's a reset of sorts. Luisa settles her stomach with some ginger ale. Then she suddenly remembers some remedial acupuncture from college and jabs her thumbs into Rose's neck, immediately clearing her headache. 

Mia gets her Ravenclaw robes and an oak wand and even though Luisa raises her eyebrows at how lenient Rose is being, a replica of Harry Potter’s glasses. 

On the drive back, with Mia passed out in the backseat amid all her treasures, Rose says, “I couldn’t help it! She used her big brown eyes on me.” 

Luisa purses her lips. “You can’t get her whatever she wants if she asks nicely. That’s not how it works.” 

“Like you could’ve resisted in my position.” 

“I would never.” 

“A month of mowing the lawn says otherwise.” 

“You’re on.” 


	3. Chapter 3

Luisa licks her lips. "Are you ready?"

Mia shakes her head.

"It's okay, kiddo," Rose says. "They'll love you. They're generally very welcoming people, except if you're a reformed drug lord who killed your husband and ran off with his daughter."

Mia looks up at her, her eyes wide. "You _killed_ someone?"

"Uh..."

Luisa knocks on the door. Before Rose can try to stumble through a half-assed explanation, the door swings open.

"You're late," Jane says, even as she kisses Luisa on the cheek.

Luisa shrugs easily. "When aren't we late?"

Jane crouches down to Mia's height. "Hi, I'm Jane. You must be Mia. How's it going?"

"Good," she mumbles into Luisa's leg.

"It's nice to meet you. Come in and meet everyone else!"

Luisa guides her inside. Jane turns back to Rose in the doorway.

"Rose," Jane says in greeting. "What's in your grilled cheeses this week?"

Rose grins, baring just a little too much of her teeth. "GMOs and MSG."

Jane rolls her eyes. "Those aren't even bad."

"I never said there was anything bad in them," Rose says, sidestepping Jane and following Luisa and Mia to the table.

"You told me you ground up glass in the cheese last week!" Jane shouts after her.

"That's organic, isn't it?"

Michael is introducing himself to Mia, who's still stuck tight to Luisa's leg. Petra and JR lean back against the table, glasses of wine in their hands. Raf comes out of the kitchen just as Rose sets the plate down on the table.

"Great, Rose, you're here. Can you figure out what's wrong with the Malakoff’s? Mateo's about to cry because it's not turning out right."

"I've got it. Go say hi to Mia."

Once the kitchen disaster has been averted, Rose washes her hands and leaves the kitchen to find the adults bustling around to set the table.

"Where's Mia?" she asks.

"Oh, she ran off with the kids," JR says, nodding toward the living room, where Rose can hear shrieks.

She peeks into the room and sees them playing Super Smash Bros: Mia and Ellie vs Mateo and Anna. Mia and Ellie win a round and whoop. The sight of Mia beaming when Ellie gives her a double high five is almost too bright to look at straight on. Rose's heart seizes suddenly, just once. The pain must be why tears spring to her eyes.

"I'm so glad they're getting along," Petra says, leaning against her shoulder.

"She's already a part of the family, huh."

"You did a good job with her." Petra squeezes her elbow in a way that shouldn't be comforting but is.

Rose sniffs once and blinks away her tears. "I didn't do anything. She was already like this. Luisa did the rest of the heavy lifting."

"Uh-huh," Petra says in a disbelieving tone. "Well, come on. Let's get this brunch over with. I have things to do."

"You and JR take a nap right after brunch. I've seen your schedule."

"And it's very important! That's why it's scheduled. Do you think it's a mistake I look this good? Kids, it's time to eat. Go wash your hands!"

"Do you think they liked me?" Mia asks in a small voice on the drive back.

"Of course they did," Luisa says, catching her eye in the rearview mirror. "Why? Do you think they didn't?"

Mia shrugs. "I didn't say anything during brunch."

"It's okay to be shy. It's scary to meet a lot of new people all at once," Rose says. "Did you like it though? We usually go every week, but we don't have to if you don't want to."

"No, I wanna keep going. I like Mateo and Ellie and Anna, but I don't know if the adults like me very much."

"If it helps, they already like you more than they like me," Rose says.

"But they were nice to you," Mia says.

"Nah, they only put up with me because they want your mama to be happy."

"Because you killed someone?"

Rose blows out a long breath.

"You might as well tell her."

"A long, long time ago, when Russia was still called the Soviet Union, there was a place called the Red Room..."

"So the only reason why I can live in a house with you and your mama is because the police don't know I'm here. So you can't tell anyone about what I've done, okay? Or else they'll send me to jail and do a complete retcon of my characterization and/or kill me off. Again."

"Who will?"

" _Them,_ " Rose says ominously. "They're always watching. They just haven't found me yet."

Mia looks over at Luisa for confirmation, who nods. "It's true. They've completely fucked me over on more than one season finale."

"Swear jar!" Mia crows.

"Swear jar," Rose agrees. "But to be fair, that one was warranted."

Mia's eyes are very wide. "Are you lying?"

Rose snorts. "I wish. I've had enough excitement for several lifetimes. No more drugs. No more dying my hair. No more murder. But mostly the hair. It's been so hard on my roots."

"I know, babe," Luisa says, reaching over to hold Rose's hand. "I know you know you can rock any hair color. It's totally unfair. But I'm really glad you went back to red."

"Ugh, me too."

"Wait, so Uncle Raf doesn't like you because you killed his dad?"

"Yeah."

"And Aunt Jane doesn't like you because you kidnapped Mateo after he was first born?"

"Yeah."

"And Uncle Michael doesn't like you because you shot him, faked his death, gave him amnesia, and airdropped him in the middle of Montana for several years?"

Rose sighs. "That's the gist of it, yes."

There's a lull in the conversation before Mia says, "Will you teach me how to shoot a gun?"

Rose bursts into laughter: loud, snorting, shaking laughs. When it subsides, she says, "Sure, this is Florida. Why not?"

Luisa shakes her head. "She's definitely your daughter."

* * *

One good thing about the tedious paperwork process is that it gave Rose and Luisa plenty of opportunity to reach out to other people in the fostering and adopting community. It's nice to know that they're not the only ones going through certain issues. They've formed a group that meets every month. 

When Rose and Luisa show up one day, David shakes his head. "You two need some alone time." 

"What? We're doing great," Rose protests. 

He pats her hand. "Sweetie, you have a huge coffee stain on the back of your blouse." 

"No, I don't! Oh, wait..." She presses a hand to her back. She can feel the crustiness of the silk. 

"And you," he says to Luisa. "Pairing denim on denim _and_ socks with sandals? That's a cry for help if I’ve ever seen one." 

"It's...a fashion statement," Luisa says, but it sounds more like a question. "Okay, it's not. But Mia is an angel and we don't need to take a vacation from our child." 

"No one said anything about a full-fledged vacation. It's just a night so you two can catch your breath. Babysitters exist, you know. There's actually a sign-up page right over there." 

"What do you think?" Rose asks. 

Luisa bites her lip. "Being able to stay out late to watch an R movie would be nice, but we don't have to. I feel bad about not including Mia." 

"I'm pretty sure she's not interested in the latest Final Destination movie." 

"You don't know that." 

"Lu, it's gonna give her nightmares." 

"Fine," she says, but she's still biting her lip doubtfully.

Mia is not keen on the idea. "Why can't I go with you?" she whines, wrapping herself around Rose's leg so Rose has to drag her along the floor to get to the front door. 

"You wouldn't like this movie. It's rated R." 

"Which means that I can see it if I have parental supervision! I looked it up." 

"She gets her smarts from your side of the family, you know," Rose tells Luisa. 

"Ha!" Luisa says, slipping on her sandals. "My IQ's an outlier. I love him but have you met Raf?" 

"He's adopted." 

Mia looks up at her. "He is?" 

"Oh yeah," Luisa says. "I always forget. Regardless, my point stands. As far as I know, I was the only smart cookie of the family." She pauses to make a face. "Academically only. Common sense, not so much." 

"Hopefully you do better than your mama in that field," Rose says in a stage whisper to Mia. 

"Hey!" Before Luisa can say anything in her defense, the doorbell rings. She throws Rose a dirty look. 

“Hi!” Violet, one of the other moms from the support group, stands in the doorway. Her daughter, Haley, waves to Mia. “Am I late?” 

“No no no, you’re early actually. We never get anywhere on time,” Rose reassures them. “Look, Mia, it’s your friend, Haley. Aren’t you happy she’s here to play with you?” 

“Pleaseee, can I come with you?” Mia asks, staring up at her with big brown eyes. 

Rose can feel herself wavering but before she can say anything she’ll regret, Luisa steps in. “Thanks again for covering for us, Vi. Our numbers are on the fridge, just in case. Dinner’s in the oven. Help yourself to whatever you like.” 

“Bedtime?” 

“Ten!” Mia interjects. 

“Nine,” Luisa says. 

“Anything else I need to know? Routines? Any special considerations?” 

“I think that’s it.” Luisa looks over at Rose, who shakes her head. 

“But feel free to give us a call if you have any questions at all,” Rose adds. 

Luisa bends down to look up at Mia. “You be good for Violet, okay? Can I give you a goodnight kiss?” 

“No.” She pouts. 

“We’ll be back in a few hours,” Rose says. “Have a good time, kiddo.” 

When Violet closes the door, the last thing they see is Mia’s betrayed face staring out at them. 

“Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea,” Rose says as they get into the car. 

Luisa doesn’t reply. 

It’s a little past ten when they get back. 

“How was she?” Rose asks as Violet carries a snoozing Haley to the car. 

“Fine. A little moody about being left behind, but she perked up during Monopoly. She’s a good kid.” 

“We know,” Luisa says. 

When Violet leaves, Rose sighs. “I still feel bad about going without her.” 

“Yeah.” Luisa winds her arm through Rose’s as they head to bed. “But we can’t spend every hour of every day with her. She’s going to have to be independent sooner or later.” 

“But not anytime soon. We’re all she has.” 

“It’ll go by faster than you think. Besides, all the parenting books say that we have to take some time for ourselves occasionally. It keeps things from escalating, so we don’t get a repeat of the blow up at Universal Studios. I’d rather have a little separation anxiety than regret about words you can’t take back.” 

“Hmmm,” Rose says, but Luisa knows she’s won. 

She kisses Rose’s nose. “Look at you, getting all attached. You’re such a softie for a cold-blooded murderer.” 

Rose pouts. “I’m not a softie,” she mutters. 

* * *

Mia bursts into the car after school one day, waving around a flyer. “Look, look! We’re having a concert!” 

Luisa takes the flyer. There’s going to be a choir concert in a few weeks. It’s spring themed. 

“This is so cool! What songs are you working on?” 

Mia prattles on and on as they drive home. 

A few weeks later, Mia drags the both of them through a parking lot. 

“Okay, you guys sit there,” she says, pushing them toward the seats in the auditorium. “I’ll be standing in the front row, next to Jeremy.” She points. 

“We’ll be right here,” Luisa says. 

“Good luck, kiddo!” Rose adds. 

Neither Rose nor Luisa remember much from the concert afterwards, despite being _those_ parents in the audience that take way too many photos. It’s an elementary school choir, so the quality is subpar, but seeing Mia’s face shining so brightly as she sings makes Luisa burst into tears. (Rose manages to hold herself in check, but barely.) 

“Did you like it?” Mia asks afterwards, bouncing all the way to the car. 

“You were the best part,” Rose says, meaning every word.

* * *

“I need help with homework, if that’s okay,” Mia says one evening, scuffing her socks on the floor. 

Rose blinks. According to conferences, her progress in class is decent and she’s never asked for help before. But she recovers from her surprise. “Of course. Go get your homework.” 

As she spreads her homework out on the table, Rose scratches her head. “Luisa!” 

Luisa pokes her head out of her office. “Yes, dear?” 

“What do you know about new math?” 

“New math?” 

It takes half an hour, but Luisa and Rose set up a system. 

(“You do math and science. I’ll do social studies and English. I was a sociology major. I do not understand hard science and math,” Rose had said. 

“This is third grade homework,” Mia pointed out. 

Rose scowled. “She gets her sass from you.” 

Luisa grinned at Mia. “There are worse things she could’ve gotten from me.”) 

A few hours later, Rose sits back in her chair. “Okay, does that make sense?” 

Mia nods. “I get it now.” 

Rose sighs. “That makes one of us.” 

“No, you did a good job explaining it to me,” Mia says, tugging on Rose’s hand. 

Luisa smiles. “See? We got this parenting thing down. Now go wash up. It’s time for dinner.”

* * *

When school gets out, Rose and Luisa sign Mia up for camp. 

“But I don’t wanna go!” Mia whines. 

“You said you wanted to learn how to ride horses,” Rose says. “It’s a horse-riding camp. You’ll make lots of friends.” 

“I want you to come too!” 

“I would if I could, kiddo,” Rose says, “but your mama and I have to work. Besides, it’s just day camp. It’ll be like school. We’ll drop you off in the morning and pick you up in the afternoon. You don’t have to stay there overnight.” 

“Just give it a try,” Luisa says. “If you don’t like it after the first three days, we’ll find you something else, but we don’t want you staying home alone all day during the summer.” 

It turns out not to be an issue, Mia learns she loves riding. 

One weekend, they go camping as a family. 

Luisa winces when Rose hands her a shovel and a roll of toilet paper. It flutters in the heat of the fire. “Couldn’t we have gone somewhere with portapotties, at least?” 

“Where’s the fun in that?” Rose asks. “You can see the stars so much better out here. And Mia’s having fun.” 

She runs up to them with cupped hands. “Look! I caught a frog! Can we keep it?” 

“No,” Luisa says. 

“Maybe next time,” Rose says. 

Luisa sighs dramatically. “Watch, I’m gonna get dragged off by a gator and you’ll spend the rest of your life weeping. ‘If only I’d listened to Luisa, then she wouldn’t have died on a stupid camping trip!’” 

“At least I’ll be able to wipe my eyes with Benjamins from your life insurance policy,” Rose says. 

“Mark my words, you’ll rue this day!” Luisa says as she wanders off. 

“Can you believe she calls me dramatic?” Rose asks Mia. She blows the wood shavings off a handmade javelin before she stands and hurls it into the underbrush. She trots after it and comes back with a speared rabbit. “Honestly,” she says, shaking her head. She starts to skin it. “Me, dramatic.” 

“I’m gonna name him George,” Mia says, holding up her frog. 

Later, when they gaze up at the Milky Way through the mesh in the roof of their tent, Rose nudges Luisa. “This view is worth pooping in the woods, isn’t it?” 

“Hardly,” Luisa mutters, but Rose can see stars reflected in her wide eyes. 

“Ha, I knew it!” Rose says. 

“Shh, George is sleeping!” Mia says. 

“You brought a frog into the tent?“ Luisa shrieks. She flails around, nearly bringing the whole thing crashing down on them. 

It’s a very memorable trip overall. 

It’s one of those days that’s so hot it looks like the asphalt itself is melting. Luisa is stretched out on one couch, snoozing. Mia is splayed out on an armchair, reading. The ceiling fan spins so fast above them, it shakes a little. Rose bursts into the living room: red, dusty, and out of breath. 

“Wake up, Lu!” 

She yawns and stretches. “Did you fix the air conditioner?” 

“No. We’re gonna have to call someone.” 

“Told you.” 

“That’s not important. Go get your swimsuit. Mia, you too. We’re going to the beach.” 

Luisa sighs. “Everyone’s gonna be there, though.” 

“Come on, Mia’s never been to the beach. Would you deny her that? Mia, puppy dog eyes.” 

On cue, Mia widens her eyes to nearly impossible limits and barely juts out her bottom lip. 

Luisa turns away. “That’s not fair!” 

“Mia,” Rose says, “phase two.” 

“Please,” Mia says in a wavering voice. “I’m just a poor ward of the state. I have no parents. I’ve never known the ocean and I’ve lived my whole life in Florida. It’s my dying wish.” 

“You two are the worst!” Luisa says as she heaves herself off the couch. 

“You’re the best!” Mia says, leaping up to hug her. 

Luisa melts. Rose gives Mia a thumbs up behind Luisa’s back and mouths, _Nice touch_. 

“I saw that.” 

The beach is very crowded, but they manage to find a little spot to themselves. Rose sticks a beach umbrella in the sand. Luisa lays out three towels and immediately falls asleep. Rose doesn’t understand how she can stand the heat, but she supposes she’s used to Miami weather by now. Instead, she and Mia race each other down to the waves. 

Mia squeals and clambers onto Rose’s shoulders when the ocean washes over her ankles. “It’s cold!” 

“Hang on, kiddo!” She hoists her higher up and walks into the surf. It gets difficult to walk once she wades up to her knees. ”Hold your breath!” 

“What’re you—no!” 

Rose buckles her knees and they fall into the ocean. She scoops Mia up, who swipes at her eyes and smacks her lips. “It’s saltier than I expected.” 

After they tire of playing in the waves, Rose helps her build a sandcastle. Mia sticks a strand of seaweed into one tower and proclaims it Castle Alver, where Rose and Luisa rule as joint queens and Mia is the princess. 

“Look, M—Luisa! It’s your castle!” 

Luisa hums, groggy. Before Mia’s face can fall, Rose jumps in and says that Luisa’s actually a slumbering dragon and they need to bury her in the sand before she wakes up and destroys the castle. They start piling sand over Luisa, who only makes a feeble attempt to free herself before she resigns herself to her fate. 

When Mia sits on the mound of sand on top of Luisa and announces the dragon has been defeated, Luisa suddenly rises with a roar. Rose shields her eyes against the setting sun as Luisa chases Mia up and down the beach. 

* * *

In September, Mia moves up to fourth grade. It’s a flurry of checkups, school supply shopping, and more paperwork. 

Rose pauses when she comes across one form. She pokes her head into Luisa’s office. “Hey, Lu?” 

Luisa looks up over her glasses. “Yeah?” 

Rose hands over the form. “What do you think?” 

Luisa scans it. “What does Mia think?” 

“I was gonna ask her after I asked you.” 

“I think it’ll be good for her if she finds something she likes. It doesn’t have to be sports. It could be voice lessons.” She gasps. “Or music lessons! We could have a family band.” 

“I’ll go ask her about sports. Maybe to voice or music lessons, but I’m vetoing the family band. Absolutely not.” 

“It’s a good idea!” Luisa calls after her. 

Anyway, Mia chooses soccer and that’s how Rose and Luisa become soccer moms. 

Rose spends more than one occasion literally holding Luisa back as she argues over the ref’s calls over elementary school league games. 

Once, Rose is so outraged by a call that she forgets to hold onto the back of Luisa’s shirt to keep her in check. They both storm the field and get thrown out of the game.

* * *

Rose falls in love exactly twice in her life. The first time was on the Fourth of July, fireworks bursting overhead, dangling her legs in a deserted pool with her future wife (while she was technically in a relationship with said wife's father, but they don't talk about that). The second time is just as sudden.

It's been nearly eight months since Mia came to live with them. This morning is one of the few days where they have to split up instead of carpooling. Luisa had to go into work early to work on paperwork for a backlog of cases, so Rose takes Mia to school by herself.

Today, they play Picnic in the car. Rose will start by saying, "I'm going on a picnic and I'm bringing an apple." Then Mia will continue and say, "I'm going on a picnic and I'm bringing an apple and a key lime pie." They take turns going back and forth, adding items to the list. The first person to forget what comes next loses. It's a nice and noncommittal way to pass the time in the car. That being said, she's been pleasantly surprised by Mia's competitive streak. Rose has already lost to an eight-year-old a handful of times so far.

Rose parks and walks Mia to her class. They both know that the other kids are just dropped off at the front, but it's nice to postpone the goodbye for a few more minutes.

Today though, Mia pauses before she heads into the classroom. Without looking up at her, she bounces her whole little body off Rose's leg (upon further reflection, Rose realizes this was a hug) and mutters, "Bye, Mommy," before she scampers off into class.

It's like being struck by lightning. Her chest floods with warmth so tender and raw, she thinks she's having a heart attack at first. She clutches her chest, tears springing to her eyes.

Rose stares after her for a second before she remembers herself. "Have a good day, kiddo!"

Then she books it back to the car, barely managing hold it together enough to slam the door shut before she starts crying in earnest. With shaking hands, she dials Luisa's number.

"Hello?"

"Luisa," she gasps, fighting to keep her words coherent as she sobs, "Mia!"

"Are you _crying?_ Is she okay? Are you okay? What's going on?"

"I just d-dropped her off at school and she h-hugged me, I think, and called me M-Mommy."

"Oh, wow," Luisa breathes.

"Luisa, we _have to_ a-adopt her."

"Oh my god," she says reproachfully. "You scared me! You could've just told me you fell in love her."

"O-of course I love her," Rose howls. "She's the m-most perfect child there ever was."

She can hear the slight swishing sounds of Luisa shaking her head. "I can't believe it took you eight whole months to realize it. I knew right away. Listen, I need to go, but I'll see what I can do about speeding up the adoption process. You know it's going to take forever."

"O-okay," Rose says. Her sobs are starting to subside.

"I love you, you big softie."

"Love you too."

* * *

A few weeks later, Mia says, "Can you pass the pepper, Mama?"

Luisa hands her the pepper absentmindedly. It isn't until she's halfway through another bite of cauliflower crust vegan pizza that she realizes what Mia's said. "Mama?"

Mia ducks her head. "Um, if it's okay to call you that."

"Oh, of course it is, baby. Can I give you a hug?"

Mia crawls into her lap. "Are you going to start crying?"

Luisa laughs wetly. "Yes."


	4. Chapter 4

Every year, the whole Villanueva-Solano family packs into Rafael's penthouse suite at the for Thanksgiving. Alba and Jorge bring arepas, Rogelio and Xiomara make their own cider (both alcoholic and nonalcoholic varieties available), Darcy and Esteban are in charge of mashed potatoes and gravy, Petra and JR make latkes, and Jane and Michael bring several different varieties of pie. As the host, Rafael is in charge of the turkey and tofurkey. It's too delicate (and important) to be moved to a secondary location. Surprisingly, Rafael's turkey is pretty good except for the one year he tried to deep fry it in a trash can and almost set the whole Marbella on fire. (He keeps insisting it would’ve been fine if he’d deep fried the actual turkey instead of the tofurkey.) 

Baby, the twins, and Mateo run off to play video games. When Rose and Luisa arrive, bearing a casserole, Mia hides behind Luisa's legs as she peeks out at the absolute chaos reigning in the suite. 

"It's okay, baby," Luisa says. 

"For the last time, I want to be called Lina! I'm ten years old! I'm not a baby anymore!" Baby yells from the living room. She's been trying out different nicknames for the last year with varying degrees of success. Right now, it's Lina, both for her godmother and as a shortened form of Michaelina. 

"Oops, sorry Lina!" Luisa says. "But don't be scared, Mia. That's your...aunt-in-law?" 

Rose shrugs. "Something like that. Honestly, who knows with this family?" 

Luisa bends down to Mia's height. "Do you want to go play with your cousins? You already know the girls and Mateo." 

Mia shakes her head. 

"Okay, wanna go watch soccer with Jorge and Darci?” 

They’re on the couch screaming at the TV. Jorge is plucking at his Brazil jersey while Darcy;s painted Uruguay’s sun on her face. 

Mia blinks, overwhelmed by their enthusiasm, and then shakes her head. “Can’t I stay with you?” 

“I’m just going to be in the kitchen helping the adults. It’ll be really cramped.” 

“I can help!” 

Mia helps Luisa peel a few cloves of garlic before Baby Lina wanders into the kitchen. “Oh hi, who are you?” 

“Mia. I’m Rose and Luisa’s...I’m here with them.” 

“Oh cool. I was just grabbing juice boxes for the kids. Do you wanna come play Pokémon with us?” 

“That does sound fun...” Mia shoots Luisa a guilty look. 

“Go on,” Luisa says. “You can always come back if you’re not having fun.” 

Rose and Luisa don’t see her again until it’s time to eat. 

Usually Jane will make a big fuss about going around the table and making everyone say what they’re thankful for, but Luisa had pulled her aside earlier and said maybe they could skip it this year since that’s a lot of pressure to put on Mia. And Jane had let it go. 

So they eat until they’re all sleepy and full and they watch Jorge and Darci scream about soccer some more. 

“Is that what Thanksgiving is always like?” Mia asks once they get home. 

“More or less,” Rose says. “Did you like it?” 

“Yeah. It was really nice.” 

Luisa smiles. “It was really nice having you here this year. We’d love you to attend many, many more Thanksgivings with us.” 

Mia cocks her head. “Where would I go? I can’t drive. I’m nine.” 

Luisa is at a complete loss for words. Rose laughs at her expression until she cries. 

* * *

"What do you think Santa will get Mama for Christmas?" Rose asks Mia a few days after Thanksgiving.

The withering glare Mia gives her almost makes her laugh.

"What?" Rose can't help smiling.

"I know Santa isn't real."

"Aww, who ruined it for you?"

"It wasn't hard to figure out when I never got coal even though I've been bad every single year."

Rose's heart aches. "Can I give you a hug?"

Mia grudgingly lets Rose wrap her arms around her. "Listen to me, kiddo. You're not a bad kid. You don't need to be good every single minute of every single day to be a good kid, okay? Being sad and angry and acting on those emotions are just a part of being human. As long as you're not hurting people, it's okay.

"What if I say mean things and do hurt people, though?"

Rose rocks her. "Do you remember when Mama told you that I've done a lot of very bad things to people for most of my life?"

Mia nods against her chest.

"But I'm better now. Mostly because of your Mama."

"How?"

Rose frowns. Even after all these years, saying she changed because of the power of love sounds so hokey, she can't physically say it, even if that's basically what happened. She decides to gloss over it. "Your Mama taught me that you can't change the past. But you can apologize and make it up to the people you hurt and try your best to be good going forward. And that counts for something. Does that make sense?"

Mia nods slowly.

"I think you're a good kid. You'll get Christmas presents this year."

"Okay."

"But! We have to find something for Mama. What do you think she'd like?"

Mia shrugs.

"Should we go to the mall and window shop? See what there is?"

"That sounds good."

"We'll know it when we see it, right?"

"Yeah."

Hours later, they walk out of a local bookstore with a big bag of books. Rose is carrying the bag. Mia is holding a book tight to her chest.

"Do you think she'll like it?" Mia asks. There's an anxious note in her voice.

Rose smiles. "I think she'll love it."

"Will she cry?"

"Oh, most definitely."

"Is that a bad thing? That she cries all the time?"

"Not those tears. She cries because you make her so happy and she has to let it out somehow."

"Oh. Okay." Mia looks down at the book. It's called _Reasons Why I Love Mom_. "Will you help me wrap it?"

"Of course. After you fill in all the pages."

"There are a lot of pages," Mia says doubtfully.

"It's okay. I'll help you fill them out, one a day until Christmas."

* * *

On the first day of December, Luisa drags all their boxes of Christmas decorations out of the attic. 

Rose stares at the boxes with bleary eyes and wraps her robe tighter around herself. "Does it have to be today?" 

"It's December! It's Christmas season and I'll be damned if we get outshone by the Thompsons across the street again." 

Rose drinks from her mug of coffee. "But not now right? It's Monday. Mia has to get ready for school." 

"This evening. It's a family tradition." 

Rose sighs. Although she'll never admit it, it makes her heart jump every time Luisa calls them a family. "Okay." 

After a quick dinner, Luisa props the ladder up against the house. Rose hands her the lights to hang up, partly because she's been recruited to and partly because she's scared out of her mind. Luisa has forbidden her from the job ever since she found Rose leaning over the edge trying to stringing up lights on the roof that first year. 

Apparently intelligence and common sense are two different things. 

Still, seeing Luisa perched precariously on the top step of the ladder whistling idly while she works makes Rose's anxiety spike. 

"Hon, are you sure you don't want me to be up there instead?" Rose asks, even though she knows it's in vain. 

"I trust my judgment much more than yours." 

Rose sighs. "If you say so." 

"How's Mia doing?" 

Rose looks over at Mia, who's filling up a kiddie pool with the hose. The fake (safe, nontoxic, reusable and environmentally friendly) snow is rapidly soaking up the water and puffing up. She's wearing sunglasses and frowning over at the Thompsons, who if anything, are even more enthusiastic about Christmas than Luisa is. Their yard is already all set up, complete with animatronic reindeer and a dancing inflatable noodle Santa. 

"She's taking her job very seriously," Rose says. 

"We have better decorations, right, Mama?" 

"You know it, baby," Luisa calls back. 

It takes the entire evening, but when they're done, they stand on the sidewalk and admire their handiwork. A thick blanket of fake snow is spread out on the lawn. On top of the snow is a waist-high replica of Santa's workshop. Seven-foot-tall candy canes frame either side of the driveway with a Merry Christmas banner hung between them. And to top it off, a lit-up dinosaur Santa presides over it all. 

Mia made a pinecone garland at school that Rose weaved through the wreath on their front door. 

“Suck on that, Thompsons.” Luisa has her hands on her hips, bursting with pride. 

"Come on, kiddo," Rose says, gently nudging Mia toward the front door. "Time for bed. You've got school tomorrow." 

Mia takes a deep breath. "It feels like Christmas already. Can I have hot cocoa before I go to bed?" 

Luisa smiles. "How about we all have a cup?" 

"But you have to brush your teeth and go to bed straight after, okay? If you stay up, your mama will make us put up the indoor decorations too." 

"I'd be okay with that," Mia says. 

"HA!" Luisa shouts triumphantly. 

Rose rolls her eyes. "But you still have to go to school tomorrow. And everyone is going to be grumpy if we stay up too late." 

Mia shyly slips her hands into one of each of their hands as they head back inside. 

They drink cocoa, huddled around the microwave. Rose suggested marshmallow death matches and now they're taking bets on which marshmallow knight (with toothpicks for swords) will pop the other one. Luisa's winning but Mia's not far behind. 

"I don't want today to end," Mia confesses as she waits for them to tuck her in. 

Luisa very slowly reaches out and brushes the hair out of Mia's eyes. "Today's just the beginning, baby. We haven't even gotten to Christmas yet. There are very many days like today ahead of you." 

Mia turns her head away and looks at her out of the corner of her eye. "Promise?" 

Rose holds out her pinky. "Pinky swear." 

Mia regards her hand with some suspicion before she finally shakes. 

Luisa pulls the blanket over her and bends to kiss her forehead. "Good night, baby." 

Rose kisses her too. "Sleep tight. Don't let the bedbugs bite." 

Mia mumbles something that might be "love you" or "of two," it's too muffled to hear properly. Rose closes the door behind her as she leaves the room. "Any news?" 

Luisa shakes her head. "Nothing new." 

"I hope they get it done by Christmas." 

"I know." Luisa kisses her cheek. "We'll just have to wait and see." 

* * *

They don't have time to set up the indoor decorations until that weekend. Luisa hands everyone ugly Christmas sweaters. Her's has an embroidered sloth with a Santa hat. Rose's looks like it's entirely made of gold tinsel. Mia's has lights that flash in a pattern. 

Rose makes pancakes for breakfast. When everyone's finished eating, Luisa herds everyone into the living room. 

"First things first, we have to set the mood." She connects her phone to the Bluetooth speaker and within seconds, "Mele Kalikimaka" starts to play. She nudges Rose with an elbow as she passes her. "Start singing. I know you know all the words." 

Rose and Luisa get through the first verse before Rose realizes Mia looks nervous. "What's wrong?" 

"Do I have to sing too?" 

"No," Luisa says. "You can if you want to, though." 

Rose and Luisa put the Christmas tree together as Mia bedazzles her stocking with glitter, rhinestones, and felt flames. After they hang up the stockings, Rose helps Mia wind the lights around the tree as Luisa unwraps the ornaments: everything from handmade painted baubles to crochet Santa’s to the glass sunburst tree topper. 

Luisa sings along to every song, even the instrumental version of "Carol of the Bells," even though she just aggressively vocalizes along with the electric guitar. 

She stops in the middle of laying out ornaments, however, and jumps to her feet when "Last Christmas" starts. "Rose!" 

Rose grimaces. "Nooo." 

Mia looks up. "What is it?" 

Rose sighs. "One year at the annual Marbella holiday party, when I was, uh, married to Emilio, your mama got very, very drunk. There was karaoke at this party, and she decided to sing this song. It was not good." 

"Relax, no one knew I was singing it to you." 

"Luisa, you kept trying to pull me onstage. People knew." 

"Eh, whatever. We're married now. It doesn't matter." 

"Anyway, every time she hears this song, she insists on reliving that memory." 

" _Once bitten and twice shy_ ," Luisa sings, holding out a hand. " _I keep my distance, but you still catch my eye_. Come on, it's a tradition at this point." 

And Rose sighs, but she lets Luisa pull her to her feet and starts singing too. " _Tell me, baby, do you recognize me? Well, it's been a year, it doesn't surprise me._ " 

Luisa swings her around the room, expertly steering her around the various decorations strewn on the floor. " _Merry Christmas, I wrapped it up and sent it._ " 

" _With a note saying, 'I love you,' I meant it. Now, I know what a fool I've been_..." 

" _But if you kissed me now, I know you'd fool me again_." 

Then a sweet (on-key) voice joins in on the chorus. Luisa grins and holds out her other hand to Mia, who after a split second of hesitation, takes it. The three of them twirl around the room, finding a path through the chaos. When the song ends, they stop and gaze at each other, grinning. 

Luisa looks up and gasps. "Look, mistletoe!" 

Rose and Luisa exchange a sly glance and before Mia can finish saying, "Gross!" They swoop in and plant a kiss on either side of her cheeks. There's the click as Rose snaps a selfie. 

"Let me see, let me see!" Luisa says as Mia wriggles away, sticking out her tongue. "Oh, that's beautiful. It's going on our holiday cards for sure. Happy holidays from the Alvers!" 

* * *

On Christmas morning, Mia runs into their bedroom while it's still pitch-black outside and starts jumping on the bed. "Wake up! Wake up! It's Christmas!"

"Whatimizit? Oof!" Luisa wheezes when Mia lands on her stomach.

"It doesn't matter! It's Christmas!"

"5:27," Rose mutters. "Kiddo, can you come back in ten minutes?"

"No, come on, come on!" Mia flings the covers off them. They both curl up like shrimp in the cold morning air. Unfortunately for Rose, she's the closest to Mia. She yelps as Mia's freezing hands close around her ankles and start pulling her off the bed.

"Okay, okay! I'm up!"

Mia drops her ankles.

Rose pushes at Luisa's shoulder. "Come on, get up. You don't want to miss this. I'll get the coffee started."

"I love you," Luisa mumbles.

"Breakfast first," Rose reminds Mia. "And then you can open presents."

Mia can hardly sit still as she picks at her meal, sneaking glances at the presents under the tree.

"At least finish your toast," Luisa says, putting an arm around Rose's waist and taking a sip of coffee.

Mia crams her entire piece of toast in her mouth and hops down from the stool.

"Chew," Luisa says.

Mia works her jaw furiously.

Rose sighs. "She's definitely your daughter."

Luisa takes Rose's hand and presses a kiss to the back of her hand. "She's _our_ daughter."

"Speaking of which, do you have the...?" She trails off, her eyebrows raised meaningfully.

Luisa nods. "It's all ready. Don't worry."

"Okay, done!" Mia says, opening her mouth so they can see it's empty.

"Fine," Rose says. She's barely said it when Mia shoots away.

"Wait, hold on!" Luisa calls after her. They follow her into the living room.

"What now?" Mia groans, already sitting with a present in front of her.

Before she can start shredding wrapping paper, Luisa takes out a large envelope from behind her back. "You have to open this one first."

"This is a present?"

"Yep."

Mia narrows her eyes as she shakes the envelope. When she opens it, she pulls a card and a fancy piece of paper. The card says, "To Mia. We love you. Mommy and Mama." The piece of paper is a certificate with her name on it. But as she looks closer, she realizes it says _Mia Alver_.

"This is..."

"Yes," Rose says. She told herself she wouldn't cry and she's already starting to tear up. She barely cried before Mia, but now she cries like once every few weeks. She's not as weepy as Luisa, but that's not hard to do.

Mia launches herself into their arms, sniffling in their embrace. Rose looks over at Luisa, who's also crying freely.

"Merry Christmas, Mia Alver," Luisa whispers.


End file.
